


no one told him that he loomed

by kinpika



Series: time, and time again [5]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: prompt: sweet hello/sad goodbye, reyes meet ur new brother in law, v late posting of smth from reyes week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 06:39:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12427074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinpika/pseuds/kinpika
Summary: “I suppose I’m adding sitter to my lengthy list of talents, then?”Lavi laughs, and it’s a full belly sort of laugh, not an inch of shame in the “please do” that leaves him.





	no one told him that he loomed

When Reyes walks to the docks, he does not expect quite as much activity beyond the norm. Besides that, yes, the Tempest had decided to grace the Port with her presence, but that was not the reason he had left the slums on that particular day. From the mouth of the _Charlatan_ himself, Reyes was directed towards overseeing cargo, transporting it personally to some place or other. An outpost or two a little out of his usual routes, but a favour for a favour (and he owed the Pathfinder many favours indeed).

All the details themselves were on his omni-tool, of course. Flight paths charted, second and third man on the scene to make sure the ship was in flying order. Several details about the name of the ship fudged on Nexus ledgers and he would be off. Yet that was not what had him stall outside the docking station.

Perhaps it was a little presumptuous to expect to run into Ryder. Only meeting in the off chance work drew her to Kadara, otherwise they were left with messages and trying to work out time differences for vidcalls. Truly, it never bothered him. But Reyes did _miss_ her. And their last time together ended on a slight sour note, outside forces preventing more than ten minutes alone. Ryder had puffed up and yelled down her comm, storming back to the Tempest without a backwards glance. 

That was two months ago. Responses to his mail was short and terse, leaving him to wonder how long it would be until she left her post. 

“Sir, we’re ready to leave.”

Reyes sighs at that, hand through hair. And yet, it would be time for him to leave his. Even though he had extended an offer to her, to take the co-pilot seat for a little while, leave Nexus airspace and have a chance to breathe, her response never came. Not that he was expecting much — if he knew Tann and Addison, they were working Ryder a lot harder now that Meridian had flourished.

“All the cargo signed off?”

“Yessir.”

Already typing out a ‘just missed you’, fingers flying over his omni-tool, Reyes notes the increasing shadow. No one would be foolish enough to jump him in broad daylight at the Port, but, well, there weren’t a lot of smarts running around either. That, or some idiot from those that remained of the Outcasts who didn’t know better than to keep their head down. Reyes sends the message, leans back a little, hands on hips. Could see his men become increasingly alert, as well as a steady build of confusion.

“I take it you’re Reyes?”

Turning, Reyes readies his brightest, most disarming smile he could manage, and stops midway. Well, _shit_. He greets a chest. And then looks up, and _up_ , to see someone staring down with a grin that would put his own to shame. Full kit of armour, bearing the Initiative symbol, reflective white and not nearly the subtler metals that Ryder preferred. New, like it was being tested for the first time.

Reyes didn’t really have to think for a name, because it was provided alongside a hand, held out. “Lavi Ryder. My sis keeps going about you, y’know.”

The photos that Reyes had seen of the minute younger brother had been very deceiving. Ariel had even gone so far as to describe him as a very small, quiet guy (and apparently always on the verge of tears, but whether that was just Ariel teasing or not, Reyes couldn’t say). There was also the few minutes of meeting when he was still bound to bedrest, post-Meridian. Reyes didn’t think of just how big the man was then, when he had been so frail and thin.

Lavi’s hand quite literally wrapped around his own, and Reyes wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. “Only good things, I hope,” he says with a slight laugh, not missing a beat. Casual banter was something he could do without thinking, as his eyes took in the mass of the man before him. Ariel erred a few centimetres to Reyes’ own height, so she was not so small if anything, but her brother was quite frankly, fucking huge.

There’s a smile that plays at the corner of his mouth, one that Reyes had seen on Ariel’s face more than once. A very concerning smile that gave a sparkle to their eyes, as if they knew something he didn’t. “Oh, some things good. Some things not.”

Filing that comment away to dwell on later, Reyes flexes his finally released hand. Notes how his men haven’t quite stopped looking, waiting for a sign. There wouldn’t be one, of course, if only because Reyes wasn’t sure how to explain to Ariel that he may have shot her baby brother. “I have to ask… what brings you to Kadara? Especially on your sister’s ship.” Diversion, motioning to the Tempest. A pointed look at his second to get inside their own ship.

“She’s dropping and running, apparently.” Lavi laughs then, arms crossed over his chest (so broad, what were they _feeding_ him back on the Citadel). “Says you needed someone who could shoot straight, at the very least.”

Ah, his offer. Reyes looks over the Tempest once more. She must have been aboard, surely. Not even going to stick her head out of the cargo bay to say hello? _For shame_. “If I wanted a mercenary, I would’ve brought my own.” Not completely true, but Reyes didn’t want to tempt fate by bringing the brother on board. 

There’s that grin again, far more smug than anything Reyes could manage, surely. “Ariel told me you might say that.”

“Did she now?”

“Mmhmm.”

With a sigh, Reyes is already firing up another message. “I take it there’s not going to be a chance of negotiation?” Honestly he was just surprised that Lavi wasn’t already on board and making himself apparent mid-flight. At least this was polite, Reyes had to guess. Wouldn’t throw off his plans too much, as he’d already factored in recordings being made via SAM. Just a note ahead of time. Sends that alongside his other message.

“Ariel broke me out of the Hyperion, can’t take me sightseeing for some bullshit reason, said you’d do it instead.”

>> _sorry, last minute. took a lot to get him to fly. please take care of him_

“I suppose I’m adding sitter to my lengthy list of talents, then?”

Lavi laughs, and it’s a full belly sort of laugh, not an inch of shame in the “please do” that leaves him. Reyes gets a good look, the bags under his eyes, how his cheeks hadn’t quite filled back out. They would need extra rations for a biotic, especially one recovering from a coma.

Sending one last look towards the Tempest, in part that Ariel might decide to wander out. Give him a serve. Even just a hug. But the Tempest is firing up, ready to leave so soon. Not even a chance to restock and resupply. “I don’t think I’m carrying enough for a biotic,” Reyes has to point out, as if it would stop the ship from leaving.

“I’ve got that covered,” Lavi states simply, dropping the bag that had been on his arm to the ground. “Snacks, drinks, plans on how to smuggle pathfinders out of outposts, some other shit Lexi threw in—”

“I—Say that again?”

And then, without a note of hesitation, he picks up his bag once more, slings an arm around Reyes, and directs him towards his ship. Away from the Tempest, which had finally left without a goodbye. 

“So, how fast do you think we can hit that first outpost, before making our way towards Voeld? Sis said something about you not liking snow.”

Reyes doesn’t realise he’s smiling, until he notes just how wide Lavi is smiling back. Finally nudging him off, and settling into the pilot’s seat, Reyes opens his mouth to speak. Closes it. Smiles just a little more at how the Ryder twins truly were full of surprises, and that he might get his hello after all. Perhaps, even his hug. 

Lavi collapses in the seat next to him, not quite touching things but clearly fascinated enough to touch buttons he shouldn’t. It’s not Ariel, not by a long shot, but he’s a little more inquisitive, asking a few more questions and the change of pace isn’t bad. Reyes responds, thinks of what he’s going to say when he finally sees her, face to face. 

 

He can’t stop smiling.

 

**Author's Note:**

> kinda short but w/e. idk why i never posted this. anyway


End file.
